04-16-91 Residential Neighborhoods & Public Works

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Joint Commitee Meeting April 16, 1991 Page 2 computerized. He also stated that they have not experienced a lot of "telltale" by residents. Council Member Ladewski questioned Mr. Pace, who was quoted along with Mr. Schermerhorn, in the April 12, 1991 article which appeared in the South Bend Tribune (copy attached) . He questioned the figure of 28.5%. Mr. Pace noted that this was with regard to cost of labor only. He also questioned the "quality of work" found once the City passed their Ordinance. Mr. Schermerhorn noted that all work must be done according to Code. He noted that often times the problem is the quality of the material. He also noted that he had one experience where someone was utilizing another contractor's registration number. He suggested that two wallet cards be issued to avoid such problems. Council Member Duda questioned how the Ordinance has impacted the City of LaPorte's Engineering Department. He noted that he has a three person office. City Firefighters and City Inspectors work on all inspections and work on each shift. He noted that the front office person processes all applications. He has found the system to be manageable. Renewals are made by Janary 1st of each year. The first two years, reminder letters were sent to each contractor noting the specific date of expiration of their public liability insurance. He stated that in light of the increased postage, that reminder letters were not sent out this year. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest, he would rank the City of LaPorte's system as a "nine". Council Member Duda then called upon the Council Attorney to update the Committee Members on information since the last meeting. The Council Attorney noted that each person should have three handouts. The first is a one page handout entitled "Additional List of Supporters" of the Proposed Bill, listing twelve firms and/or individuals who are in support of the registration proposal. She then reviewed in detail, the one page handout entitled "Proposed Registration Process Bill 21-91" which detailed the two step application process, the five basic requirements of registration permit folders and the five basic responsibilities of the City of South Bend and the specific department or office which would be effected. The last document was a three page memorandum dated April 16, 1991, along with copies of two State law provisions. She noted that this is being provided to the Common Council and all members of the City Administration